Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Stephenson Excerpts
Thursday 10th October 2013

(11 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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David Amess Portrait Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)
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5. What steps he is taking to encourage responsible dog ownership.

Andrew Stephenson Portrait Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)
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8. What steps he is taking to encourage responsible dog ownership.

Simon Wright Portrait Simon Wright (Norwich South) (LD)
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9. What steps he is taking to encourage responsible dog ownership.

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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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No doubt we will hear about the dog enthusiasms of Mr Andrew Stephenson.

Andrew Stephenson Portrait Andrew Stephenson
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Thank you, Mr Speaker. I congratulate the Minister on his new position. Unfortunately, I do not have a dog, so I cannot enter one into the competition.

As for dog attacks, my own mother was attacked in the run-up to local elections by a dog on private property. As the Minister will be aware, around 70% of dog attacks on postal workers occur on private property. What effect does the Minister think the extension of the criminal offence of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control on private property will have on all those whose jobs depend on visiting people’s homes?

George Eustice Portrait George Eustice
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My hon. Friend makes a good point. Volunteers in my own constituency, too, have experienced dog attacks. For the first time, this measure will give hard-working people such as postal workers and others who visit homes as part of their job the full protection of the law when they are confronted by an out-of-control dog. This Government support hard-working people—not just in words, but in deed.

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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Mr Kevan Jones—not here.

Andrew Stephenson Portrait Andrew Stephenson (Pendle) (Con)
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8. What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to publicise the introduction of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act on 1 October 2013; and what steps churches are taking to protect themselves from lead theft.

Tony Baldry Portrait Sir Tony Baldry
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The Church of England has been working closely with its insurer, Ecclesiastical, to promote the “Hands off our church roofs” campaign, and the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013, which came into force on 1 October, is extremely welcome. Overall, we hope that we can promote the various deterrence methods available to protect church roofs and metal artefacts from theft.

Andrew Stephenson Portrait Andrew Stephenson
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Will my hon. Friend confirm that since it was made clear that that legislation would be introduced there has been a significant reduction in the incidence of metal theft? Although vigilance is still needed, does not the passing of the Act mean that we are no longer fighting a losing battle?

Tony Baldry Portrait Sir Tony Baldry
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The whole House will be really pleased about the introduction of the Act, because although we still have some way to go, the reduction in the incidence of metal theft has been substantial. Although churches of course still need to use CCTV, SmartWater and so forth, the fact that scrap metal can no longer be traded for cash—people can no longer rip lead from roofs and sell it the next morning for cash to a local dealer; it is now a cashless business—is clearly already having a considerable impact on ensuring that our heritage does not continue to be ripped off.